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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002687">Tuesday's with Mukuro</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistySprite/pseuds/MistySprite'>MistySprite</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Katekyou Hitman Reborn!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Heavy flirting, M/M, Piano, bratty mukuro, emotionally dense Hibari, fixed frienships, funny Hibari, stressed Tsuna</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:34:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,687</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002687</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistySprite/pseuds/MistySprite</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hibari begins traveling for his research on box weapons, his first stop was on the other side of the world. Even then he found  himself  living with Mukuro of all Guardians, there was never a dull moment to say the least.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hibari Kyouya/Rokudou Mukuro, Rokudou Mukuro &amp; Sawada Tsunayoshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tuesday's with Mukuro</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello, thanks so much for reading. </p><p>to clarify there is no romantic 6927 it's more of a fixing their relationship thing</p><p>and for my babies who need the full experience here are Hibari's favorite pieces Mukuro plays:<br/>Spotify :<br/>https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ef7pU7KC6JBSk1r1BLbSN?si=6HHt_b2mTCyhUrj9OtDQjA</p><p>Apple Music :<br/>https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/mukuros-piano/pl.u-leyll0lIdz2AdK</p><p> </p><p> enjoyyyy</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him, and you’re trying to choke down the feeling, and you’re trembling…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>— Siken , You are Jeff 2008. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>Vongola Headquarters </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Venice Italy </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>9:14 PM</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>They don’t know this, but their paths had been destined to cross as long as time would allow the moment Mukuro had uttered the words “you’ve finally come”. When he had said this the man remembered how pleased Mukuro had looked with a relaxed grin on his face. He’d known him longer now (unfortunately) and found the exchange to be nothing out of the ordinary except for that small moment when the gang leader had looked equally confused about the committee leader before him. Mukuro had known Tsuna was the boss by then, yet the mist still chose those words, had that look in his eye like he’d finished a puzzle that had been stealing his peace. Hibari remembers the first exchange well as it had been etched into his own body like a realm of his own personal hell. He thought about it from time to time when the sound of their weapons clashing played like a ballad in the background of his thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>“come on now pull yourself together”  Mukuro's voice interrupted his memory of their first encounter perfectly in sync with his then fifteen year old self. </p><p> </p><p>His eyes widened momentarily as he just barely avoided getting nicked , maybe he could read his mind ? He entertained the thought for a moment as he released the chains from his tonfas. Mukuro laughed as if to mock him, Hibari half expected to hear his voice give a jeering <em>“of course I can kyoya”</em> In his head but it never came. The more he doted on the subject the more irritated he became.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>why does it matter</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Such a stupid thing to wonder about when he’s right here…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The mist evaded the chains dancing through them like a ballerina of sorts, his blue ponytail trailing behind him. They froze over before they could reach him, he shrugged giving the other a smirk before clenching his fist. The ice covered chains shattered, showering the room in bits of ice and metal like a metallic snowfall, if it weren’t for the fact that it was his own weapon Hibari might’ve appreciated the beauty in it more. He detached them knowing they’d easily be replaced later and stretched his arm easing the tension in his shoulder. He’d rather feel the metal of his tonfas hit the man's back himself, it was much more satisfying that way.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? No shoo” Mukuro said quickly flicking his gloved hand at Hibari like a small child would a fly. “You look addled I have no interest in a rematch” he added, freezing Hibari’s  feet where he stood. Hibari broke the ice with one swing of his tonfa and continued moving forward. He stopped upon processing what Mukuro had said, the man had a pension for being able to read him well although he never confirmed or denied his accusations. He didn’t need to, when Mukuro was sure he was right your input was more like disregarded footnotes. Mukuro was rarely in an agitated state and when he was it was amusing to fight him, for the cloud it was a much different story. The fighting wasn’t in good nature , at least not fully but somewhere down the line it had turned into best two out of three like a game; they had come to agree there needed to be a next time hence the no killing rule. It was an unspoken rule they abided by unless  Hibari was mad and desperately wanted to cause bodily harm to someone with no strings attached. Naturally Mukuro assumed that role being his “sparring partner” and all;  With  a wicked smile and blood lust nobody came close to unless they were a psychopath he was the perfect volunteer. But even then this psychopath had a line that Hibari found himself not crossing. The line was thin and teetered on injury with chance of survival and injury meant to disable and or kill. In the  recent year Instead of knocking Mukuros veneers out ( because he had already knocked his teeth out a few times prior when they still wanted to murder one another) he settled for purposely hitting a part of his jaw that made the back of his mouth swell for a few days. Instead of stabbing Hibari in his abdomen and trying to gut him like a pig ( he’d come close once, Tsuna had to interfere.) he’d leave him with marks that hurt just as bad as any stab wound but ultimately did a considerably minimal amount of damage given his true power. Again this was when Hibari wasn’t mad and ready to break every bone in his body for stress relief.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at Mukuro who pushed an overgrown blue bang out of his face exposing his eye readily changing realms as a warning. He wasn’t scared, they both knew this. The warning was more like a promise to make him regret asking for an unnecessary hospital visit and stern talking to from their boss, and his new favorite punishment, confiscation of their rings. They had others but nothing was really like a vongola ring. He retracted his tonfas and Mukuro's eye faded to a normal red iris. The mist yawned making a show of lifting his hands in the air “aren’t you going to ask me?” He asked his voice obscured by the yawn. Hibari ignored his desire to ask how he had known he had a question to begin with. It would only make the bastard happy with himself.</p><p> </p><p>“No.” Hibari finally concluded by turning on his heels.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” The Man’s  eyes narrowed in delight he followed the other out of the room instead of disappearing into a fog of indigo flames. His knowledge could only give him so much,  to know someone wanted to ask something was entirely different from knowing what it was. It was a bit anticlimactic he wouldn’t let him slip away so easily. “You wouldn’t give a straight answer anyways” Hibari dismissed his sudden interest in the topic. Mukuro chuckled , Hibari began to bite his tongue and silently demand the exit move itself closer to him. “Now. I've never been one to hold information from you kyoya,” He replied, smugly tapping his trident on the ground. He vanished before Hibari could scold him for using his name so formally.  He sighed , Mukuro wasn’t exactly a liar but the man was far from honest. Getting his information was like pulling teeth, so he didn’t ask for it. On paper it was an entirely different story. They always seemed to have the missing piece the other needed and would steal it from one another; Mukuro stole from him. You can’t exactly hack into mukuro's brain. But you could cross the line and break a gloved finger or two to get the other to spit it out, sometimes it required less than that if the Mist didn’t feel like being assaulted the second he stepped foot on the base. Hibari would sometimes find handwritten information in his personal quarters from time to time. They weren’t a team , and you’d be a fool to insinuate it in either of their presence. But one could say they were conveniently in sync for their own selfish reasons.  He opened his umbrella stepping out into the rain letting the way his shoes felt against the gravel pathway calm him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He has an answer for everything…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Maybe so, but even for something so miniscule. You give him too much credit </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Hibari frowned at the lie, because even he couldn’t ignore how annoyingly adept Mukuro was when it came to things like this. Everything Mukuro did was strategic even when he didn’t know what for yet. Of the two Mukuro was notably better in this area. He was patient and refrained from painting the world before him red at any given moment even though like Hibari he could. Hibari didn’t like to wait, instant gratification suited him more, he didn’t care to ponder things too long. He never had to.</p><p> </p><p><em>I really hate that idiot.  </em>He declared for the thousandth time in his life storing the thought away for another time. They didn’t meet again for months.</p><p> </p><p>It was one-sided Mukuro held no ill will towards the other on a personal level. He hated the mafia ( or so he claimed. He came around more frequently these days) and Hibari fell under that blanket against his will. Nobody knew what it meant for Rokudo Mukuro to hate you personally, even if you defeated him in battle the man would only respect you for it— not openly of course. But he’d never say, create a decade long personal vendetta about the matter. He’d move on because his world view was much bigger than any mafioso he’d encountered. The world was full of men who would best him; he didn’t need to win every battle. Just the one, and these days nobody could tell what his goal was. But the smug smile he always wore assured you he was, and he wasn’t telling.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>Vongola Estate, West wing </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>British Columbia, Canada </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>5:46 PM </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Like most families children grow up and move out scattered across the country like marbles that had been dropped. The Guardians had lived together in Italy briefly, Hibari included. Their Rain guardian had surprisingly been the first to explore this new world they lived in as adults. Soon after Royhei had gone overseas and loved it instantly deciding to stay, lambo had gone home (a whole two hour flight away)  to his family but visited often enough to have his own room. Gokudera of course stayed put which wasn’t hard for him, he’d missed Italy after all. The Mist guardian was constantly torn between two worlds but ultimately ended up somewhere close enough for her to be over for dinner if she’d liked. Hibari had only ended up at the headquarters  in an attempt to study abroad; he admired how peaceful it was.</p><p> </p><p>How little he had to deal with anyone on an estate so big.</p><p>How many places he had to nap that wouldn’t be interrupted by idiots.</p><p>How close Dino and the Mist guardian were most days when he was bored.</p><p> </p><p>Still he never fully adjusted to the change in scenery until Tetsuya had arrived to be his second in command. Hibari kyoya had learned to move around in his early twenties and like the other guardians had been given access to all official Vongola estates ready to be under his command if he wanted it. Every guardian had a favorite, in turn every estate ran a little different.</p><p> </p><p>He’d never stayed at the other bases long enough to have his own personal regime implemented, yet he couldn't help but feel as if this estate had been run by him before he had arrived a week ago. The servants didn’t hover but came back at an appropriate time to fill his tea.  The chef was Canadian but didn’t butcher any Japanese dish he’d requested for dinner , the squad members who stayed in some other part of the estate were much more mild mannered than the Italy base. They crowded of course but luckily they did so far away from him. But best of all nobody bothered him , even the idiot trio that often got yelled at by their squad leader frequently knew when to stop talking to Hibari. When to keep their good mornings to themselves or leave the table when he was ready for breakfast. </p><p> </p><p>Of course where there was peace chaos followed closely hidden under a veil of something beautiful.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hibari walked down the west wing of the estate, his hands occupied by a small  black book with a pen attached to its spine and a cup of tea. Hopefully his last before dinner, they were slowly running out of the herbs that had been sent from Japan and didn’t know how to tell the cloud guardian that it would take at least another week for more.</p><p> </p><p>“Hm” he stopped upon hearing an unusually pleasant sound, one he hadn’t heard in a while. Gokudera had rarely played piano these days but when he did hibari was reminded of how much he liked hearing the instrument. He would sit in the corner and listen as he did his research until the storm insisted he was the reason he was messing up notes. Then they would fight because of course Hibari had to let him know the reason for his mistakes was because he had the IQ of a monkey. He could use a fight today, and a familiar face wouldn’t hurt hopefully it could send his report back to Tsuna. Maybe he’d figured Hibari would like this place enough to stay a bit longer than was required.  He slid the door open to find a room that looked out of place. The tiled floor turned to wood, one of the walls were made entirely of books waiting to be read.  The only pieces of furniture were a chabudai it’s black floor cushions that faced the large wall of windows, and a black couch opposite the big black piano. He paused unsure what surprised him more, the fact that this room went unnoticed by him or the way <strong><em>His</em> </strong>black gloved hands traveled across the keys like water flowing in a river.</p><p>
  
</p><p>the Mist guardian grinned from his seat at the piano, the notes grew faster as if celebrating the new arrival he turned his head to the side deciding it was enough eye contact as he spoke. “They said I had a guest” Mukuro purred , the notes grew soft and sweet His voice against Stravinsky’s Three movements from Petrushka was like silk and didn’t send its usual wave of annoyance down his spine. Hibari said nothing and the Mist only smiled wider returning to his piano, he cracked his knuckles before beginning another ballad that was less energetic but seemingly playful. Hibari decided to stay and pretend the Mist was the silver haired Storm. Oddly enough Mukuro didn’t seem too interested in his company either, his eyes never lifting from the piano as he played song after song. Hibari had long finished his tea and retired to the bay window looking at the view below. A forest resided next to them with a serpentine river flowing through which from afar looked serene but he knew up close it was cold and harsh and not nearly as pleasant. He found himself sketching the scene below in his black book , most people took photographs of the most beautiful things they had ever seen. Hibari confined them to the pages of this leather sketchbook.</p><p> </p><p>“Mukuro, dinner is rea—” An B rank officer  by the name of Genive began to announce halfway through his rendition of Odeon by Nazareth. “Both of your dinners are ready” she corrected herself quickly, the tips of her ears growing a faint shade of red. She was too old for gossip but still the whispers about the Vongola cloud and mist guardian being sworn enemies peaked everyone’s interest. Those who had the pleasure of witnessing her masters antics, and those who had the misfortune of being in the way told stories that sounded like the plot of a comedy movie. She knew they were true although she’d never witnessed it herself, that made this sight before her all the more strange. Hibari perched comfortably in the bay window half asleep as Mukuro played his piano. Nobody dared enter the west wing when Hibari was sleeping, and nobody had the guts to watch Mukuro play whenever he did. Not that he had told them not to , but the man was terrifying in his own silent way. He let the notes slip away from him until it was silent in the room. “Ah” he said standing up grabbing his long black coat. “I hope you haven’t terrorized my chef into making you meals off a children’s menu” Mukuro teased. Hibari ignored the jeer at his eating habits, the knowledge that Mukuro didn’t even know what a home cooked meal tasted like  until three years prior made him smirk a little. “Oh?” Mukuro noted the gesture, of course he knew Hibari had come up with some snotty little remark in his head and was opting not to share.</p><p> </p><p>“So you’re the one that stays here the most.” Hibari came to the conclusion aloud while reaching for his sketchbook. Maybe the people here weren’t mild mannered after all, maybe they were just traumatized. He didn’t care, whatever motivated them to stay scarce it’s not like Mukuro was killing them off.</p><p> </p><p><em>Check the estate for unusual smells and shallow graves later. </em>He made a mental note to himself.</p><p>“I guess you can say that. Nobody comes here it’s just a small part in a big machine that could do without it”</p><p>That made sense, another estate was somewhere in California, the Canadian estate was like a smaller supplementary branch to it. “Do I want to know why you come here ?” Hibari asked, not really expecting much of an answer. If Mukuro wanted to hide out in a different country and work on some fruitless plan he would not be successful in then so be it . Still the thought of him plotting was annoying, he wanted it to stop. “I like the view.” He stated simply stealing a glance out of the window Hibari laid in front of. It was a simple answer, he hadn’t grinned or erased emotion from his face completely. It rolled off his tongue like hibari had just asked his name, he was telling the truth.</p><p> </p><p>Hibari wanted to laugh at how simple a usually obnoxiously complex man was but he turned and watched the river run. He liked the view too.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Gospella Family US Base </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Northern  Canada </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>1:35 AM </strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Achoo</em>
</p><p>
  <em>ack! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Achoo </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Hibari wished for a brief moment that Verde had been an anti-vaxxer and this cold Mukuro was developing would be the end of him. Unfortunately the man was like a cockroach and would live through anything, the Mist groaned sniffling slightly as he rubbed his temples. Hibari smirked, <em>at least he’s miserable— </em>he took the small victory. Mukuro glared at him, he seemed to always know when hibari was basking in his misery it was like a sixth sense. He managed to smile like always “kyoya if you keep taking interest in my health I’m going to assume it’s affectionate” Mukuro waved his pointer finger in the air as he spoke. Hibari’s jaw tightened at the comment “Anyways I’m not sick. The temperature change is just very unfavorable I just got back from hell on earth.”  (he means the flaming mountains in China, because people realized most would leave a base located there alone.)</p><p>Another wave of cold hit them as the breeze blew snow in their faces.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care.” Hibari said as they watched three drunken idiots stumble out of their car the tires had been pierced by rolls needles. The only reason He hadn’t raised hell about Tsuna giving Mukuro the green light to run rampant in another family's backyard was because he needed a way in. Mukuro had a talent of getting himself in places he wasn’t invited, like Hibari’s personal space. The man cursed in Russian after the swift warning kick to his side sent him sliding across the snow. All in all he concluded that one Mukuro was better than a hundred vongola squad members under his command slowing him down. After they found a way in Mukuro was on his own free to make whatever mess he wanted that would not involve him. Truthfully it would’ve been smart to ask what the other even wanted  at the same base in case they accidentally killed or destroyed what the other needed. They were both too stubborn to ask or offer this information. Mukuro walked back to his previous spot near the cloud peering over the wall of snow that hid them from the people below. He lit his ring with a larger flame than necessary “to think it was going to share my new toy with you”. A white box weapon accented with green and red jewels appeared in his hand. It was clearly one made by Verde in their “family” colors, for a moment Hibari was almost jealous of the other. He’d spent years researching the things getting a headstart after this he’d returned from the future; it was already hard to research an organization that works in the shadows. Even harder to track work that was still in a process of being made, yet somehow this ex con managed to have one of the smartest men in the world in his phone under “Dr.Dad”. To add insult to injury Verde was probably willing to give him everything he wanted to know about the subject over dinner, but Mukuro held little interest in the matter. Hibari was sure if he asked him, Mukuro would let him contact the scientist himself but he was much too prideful to ask for help a second time. The memory of asking Mukuro what he knew only to receive “the professor's work ? I don’t know I hardly pay attention when he brings that shit up” in return still made his blood boil. Mukuro had sighed at the mention of the most powerful weapons in the world. Sighed. Sighed and removed lint from his black wool gloves. He’d lost a few teeth that night.</p><p> </p><p>“Hurry up” Hibari snapped, luckily Mukuro was equally anxious and just fed his flame into the box. The Mists eyes lit up at the sight of a metal skeleton modeled after his left hand attached itself to him. “Did you know my name means corpse? Those doctors had a very sick sense of humor” he chuckled, glossing over the fact that he had been named after his abilities like a weapon.”I noticed the similarity yes.” A ding sound went off in Hibari's mind as he added it, the info about the doctors, to the part of his brain labeled “Everything I know about Mukuro against my will”.  Mukuro smiled curling and uncurling his fingers “I asked the professor for a weapon that focuses on my sixth path, as fun as it is Controlling people’s minds takes a great deal of strength. It’s a bit annoying too since it sometimes leaves traces of my mind in theirs afterwards.” He turned to the men checking out the tires below with a careful grin growing. Hibari listened figuring somewhere in this monologue he’d gain more knowledge about the process and could filter out the personal bullshit later. The exoskeleton grew to cover Mukuro’s arm soon after the sound of bullets could be heard. The four men below each stood with guns pointed at one another</p><p> </p><p>“Why the fuck are you pointing that at me”  the tallest yelled seemingly unaware of his own hand pointing a similar weapon at his commerade. “I’m not !” The blonde responded hysterically, his body shaking as he fought against himself. Hibari looked closer at the arguing group. Something felt off , he turned to look at Mukuro and confirm his suspicions as the mist mimicked a finger gun. “Bang bang” Mukuro whispered like a child playing pretend but the bullets were real. He didn't need to turn and look to know what had happened. “ burattino cadavere” he named his new toy, Italian always sounded sadistic when he spoke it.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Corpse puppet”  </em>Hibari understood the weapon somehow helped Mukuro to only control their bodies, cutting his workload in half. Hibari gripped his tonfas tighter as he stood; he wasn’t easily disturbed , blood and carnage didn’t bother him. But sometimes the sheer realization of what Mukuro was did, demon spawn was a painfully unoriginal jab at him most of the time. But the man truly was birthed from hell playing with anything he desired like toys and he did so without the blanket of a mafia family for years.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Fear was a foreign concept to him, the emotion was diluted with excitement. When it came it made the nape of his neck heat up. In this sub zero temperature the satisfied sigh that left Mukuro’s lips at the success of his new weapon did just that.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t tell if he feared( Hibari’s definition of fear)  what Mukuro was capable of or if he wanted to be him. The keeper of a power that granted him access to the life he lived, answering to no one. Even Tsuna barely had a say in most of Mukuro’s (violent) endeavors. Hibari needed the cushioning but it was hardly anything to complain about.  He lived in places people had to dream about eating whatever he wanted, fought more battles than he could ask for  and had an entire research foundation with the best technology because he was a guardian. They were similar but mukuros path had a much more rigid edge. But that edge had come at a price that made him the bastard he was now. Hibari would pick kindergarten over being strapped to an operation table forced to accept god knows what. The feeling disintegrated.</p><p>“Your box weapon..” Hibari finally spoke, beginning to walk towards the vehicle “hm?” Mukuro stole the passenger seat cranking up the heat.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“It looks like a Christmas decoration.”</p><p> </p><p>He ignored Mukuro’s pleading to dispute the fact driving towards the coordinates he had obtained last week. Mukuro sulked in the seat next to him quietly once he realized his threats fell on deaf ears. They parked the car and exited a few hundred feet before proceeding with their original plan of entering on foot undetected. Mukuro considered leaving hibari out of his illusionary cloak but decided if he got shot or something it would only cause him problems in the end.</p><p> </p><p>“Try not to make a mess yeah kyoya,” a sneeze interrupted the thought. “I feel like shit I’m not fighting my way out of here” he glared at the base in front of them. “Don’t speak to me like we’re here together” Hibari retorted, lighting his tonfas , it was then that Mukuro had decided Hibari was there to settle a score with someone. “We’re literally here together. What is wrong with you.” Mukuro responded to hibaris back as he exited the elevator not bothering to look back.</p><p> </p><p>He waited to reach his floor wrapping himself in the illusion of a woman slightly older than him dressed in the Gospella family uniform covering his right eye with a black bang.  Their base resembled an office building almost, floors a marble of grey and black. The walls white with pictures on it every few feet. It made him admire the décor of the Vongola estates that much more. He finally arrived at the office belonging to the man he needed to see entering like he assumed the woman had so many times before. Gossip was such an ugly thing when it fell in the wrong hands.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hibari fought his way through the base's second floor wiping the blood on his tonfas on the jacket of an unconscious member. The device he’d requested from spanner helped to keep his little surprise attack under wraps. With the press of a button he brought the bases security system to its knees, Tetsu on the other end overseeing everything. “Where” he said as he walked forward “to your left Kyo-san” the other Informed frantically checking security cameras. Most of the base had went to sleep by then, unfortunate for the stragglers that meant Hibari would be forcing them to join. Hibari reached for the black key card he had taken off one of the higher ranked members and scanned it at the metal door in the hallway.  The inside of the room was what any would expect from someone working on something nearly impossible. The room was covered in a blanket of unkempt books and papers, he spread his cloud flames before moving further. No traps seemed to be set in place , he cautiously scanned the room taking photos of the work and designs. He was no thief and really had no intention of making these things on his own; his curiosity was the only driving force here. When he stumbled upon a prototype box weapon his first instinct was to pocket it and let spanner have a look. But his better judgment told him to stick to his original plan of gathering their research and leaving. The flash drive he had stuck into the laptops were almost done sending a copy of its hard drive back to Vongola.</p><p> </p><p>“Kyo-San a lot of this information is protected by some sort of puzzle”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s expected. Who’s puzzle?” Hibari removed the flash drive from the laptop removing his cloud flame from the perimeter.  “A Thomas Addler”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mukuro was privy to just how many ways you could get what you wanted out of a person since he was a child. Somewhere along the line when he’d received his first compliment he learned something, he was fairly attractive. He'd been called pretty and handsome  before, he’d been on the receiving end of unwanted sexual advances both in and out of disguise. Sometimes he wondered if the doctors had done something that made him more appealing than usual because he couldn’t comprehend how anyone could betray themselves just for the chance to touch another human. He didn’t mind, it amused him. What fickle minds humans had.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re tired” Mukuro said tilting his head to the side, letting his black hair fall over his shoulder. “What’s wrong Thomas ?”  He asked. The way the mans pupils grew at the sight of her confirmed that the gossip had been true after all. This woman, he liked her a lot. Which meant he had to be twice as careful about pretending to be her. “What the fuck isn’t wrong..” he began to go off on a tangent about another Member giving him shit about how he was handling a project. He came to when he felt a hand on his knee a thumb circling the bone. “You know it’s rude to zone out like that” Thomas smiled shifting from his position on his desk to share the seat “Bryn” sat on. He placed her legs over his with no hesitation, “sorry” Mukuro gave a soft smile. “It’s fine. I’ll have better stories to tell once I take over this shit show” The man assured tracing a line down her exposed leg. Mukuro instinctively pulled his hair over his shoulder to cover his neck not wanting to invite any advances. His fingertips accidentally brushed against his Vongola ear piece which was like a small raised stick just below his ear. He looked at Thomas his eyes widening at the new information which Thomas mistook for admiration. If he was going to take over then he must’ve had more knowledge than Mukuro had come here for, Christmas came early.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hibari stopped in his tracks upon the sound of his Vongola transmitter coming to life, he heard two unfamiliar voices.</p><p> </p><p>“Take over?” A woman asked</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, why ? Does that sound like something you’re interested in. A few moments ago you weren’t paying attention” it was a teasing response , the voice was getting closer. “A few moments ago you were complaining about a parking spot <em>Thomas</em>” the woman snidely pointed out before laughing which the man soon joined in on. “Thomas” hibari repeated back to himself. The only Vongola close enough was Mukuro, maybe he was listening in from a closet in a room.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The voices are too close. As good as Gianni is this is definitely attached to a Vongola. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Fuck. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He quickly asked tetsu to find Mukuro’s whereabouts before he killed the person who had the answer to their little problem. “So you listen when I talk like this..” there was some shuffling a surprised Yelp from the woman “I’m guessing the thought of me in charge is one you like considering the way your eyes lit up” Thomas’s voice was low and he spoke as if he expected the woman to hang on to his every word. It was almost uncomfortable to listen to. “Aw” the woman said “Power is sexy, you on the other hand. You’re okay” the word poured like sugar coated venom. “We both know you think I’m better than okay” the Man's voice grew more assertive.  Hibari stopped in his tracks upon hearing the unmistakable sound of a kiss and a moan. He removed the Vongola gear from his neck and crushed it underneath his foot. He’d already planned to leave alone anyways, but now he’d planned to beat Mukuro to a pulp and then leave him. As he made it through the base with a quickness he realized crushing the gear had also disconnected him from Tetsu who could no longer keep him updated on everyone’s position. He had little patience left once he reached the office and flung open the door with brute force. Inside laid Mukuro on a couch no longer wrapped and whatever illusion he was before. The man he was speaking to say on his desk legs crossed with a small smirk in his face. “I could hear you stomping from a mile away, care to knock ?” Mukuro asked as he, well Thomas stood. </p><p> Hibari restrained himself from beating the man because he knew Mukuro felt no pain during possession, he turned to Mukuro’s body flipping is tonfa before hitting the man in the lower abdomen. Thomas fell to the floor gasping for air</p><p>“Is this how you check on people?” He asked between rigid breaths. That was going to bruise , he reached for Hibari’s shoe and pulled the man off his balance watching as he landed on his butt.</p><p> </p><p>“This is fun and all but im working”</p><p> </p><p>“That didn’t sound like work.” Hibari hissed , Thomas’s face fell to one of confusion, his finger going to Mrs with his hair when he felt that same spot on his neck again. Or rather what was usually there.</p><p> </p><p><em>Oh </em> Mukuro thought, wondering just how much Hibari had heard. “Ew kyoya. It was only first base” He clarified “he would have been very surprised if he went that far” the Mist added with a small chuckle at the thought. Hibari needed to hit something quickly, he needed Mukuro back in his body so he could get what he wanted from Thomas and properly beat the shit out of them both. Instead the most took his time in the others body opening his laptop “hmmm what is my password” he asked himself before smiling and quickly typing something in seeming to get in easily. “Mukuro.” Hibari growled but the man remained silent, seeming to go away for a moment Thomas’s face going blank. He wondered if something had finally went wrong and Mukuro had broken himself. Before he could ask he had to jump out of the way of a blade trying to cut his ear clean off. His chain wrapped around the mans wrist quickly snapping it as he pulled him closer and knocked him out.</p><p> </p><p>“Shit.” He spat realizing their time was up, he was more than up for a fight. With his information incomplete and the idiot keeping him from what he needed this whole thing felt like a failure. Mukuro's body rose from the couch slowly he stumbled as he got up and pressed a hand against the forming bruise. The hallway filled with men which Hibari took care of with roll after the hedgehog deflated and leg the bodies drop; they both quickly tried to find an exit route. By the time they had cut through at least a hundred members in the base they found themselves at a dead end. He had hoped Mukuro had an escape plan of his own since he ruined it but as luck would have it he didn’t.  He hadn’t planned on being spotted either so posing as members as they ran was out of the question.  The entire ordeal took an hour until they managed to make it to a secluded area of the basement roll ruining the entrance but not before six men slipped through. Hibari moved swiftly fighting with a little less grave than usual the spikes on his tonfa ripping the men to shreds. Mukuro's eye covered in a unwavering mist flame as his trident pierced the hearts of several of the men.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s going to be a pain to leave on foot” He finally spoke. “Have fun” he smirked as hover bike appeared before the two Hibari’s knuckles turned white sure he had planned on leaving him but with the tables turned it kind of pissed him off. “You already ruined what I came here for.” Hibari warned “you shouldn’t even be standing”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm. Well you assaulted me for absolutely no reason when I already wasn’t feeling well.” Mukuro said. “To think I could probably tell you whatever it was you wanted from Thomas.” He smiled. Hibari waited for him to explain himself. “Break down that wall and I’ll explain” Mukuro bargained. Almost instantly roll had been deployed and a gust of fresh snow blew into the room sending shivers down Mukuro’s spine. Oh how badly he wanted a bowl of soup. “When I posses people I can borrow their knowledge, look through it like a file cabinet. It’s a new skill so I haven’t perfected doing it without a stupid look on their face” he explained walking over the bodies.</p><p> </p><p> <em>So that was why he looked gone. </em></p><p> </p><p> Mukuro stopped abruptly making a face , “kyoya one is missing.” Mukuro whispered looking up at the other who was still processing. “Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“There were six men only five a—“</p><p>There was something funny about reflexes how even though he knew the man before him wasn’t Ken Chiksua he still had the natural instinct to shove him out of the way all while launching his trident like a harpoon at the man. His lower abdomen was stained red  although the bullet hadn’t been a direct hit it was enough to leave him in pain. Muscle memory was a bitch. Hibari stood paralyzed for a moment, he had heard the soft footstep and began to move on his own as Mukuro tried to warn him. Still the black gloved hand pushed him hard enough to leave red finger marks on his collarbone. Hibaris blood boiled as he stood retrieving Mukuro’s trident from the dead sniper, he walked over to Mukuro slowly.</p><p> </p><p>“I fucking hate work sometimes” Mukuro said between rigid breaths. Hibari felt an odd wave of relief the breath he had been holding escaping his lips.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Good. He’s fine.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He scoffed at himself. Surely the relief was one that came from the fact that he wouldn’t have to tell a story about Mukuro saving his life at his funeral that he wouldn’t be attending. “New plan” he took a few moments to gather his breath. “I can’t make anything too fancy at the moment. I think I have a fever, also I think you broke my rib. Also I got shot” Mukuro listed off his inconveniences. Hibari rolled his eyes. He owed him of all people a favor at the moment and he wouldn’t be giving more than one. So he got on the illusionists snowmobile and let the man rest his head on his shoulder and wrap his arms around him as they fled. The only upside was the fact that Mukuro’s bleeding body was fairly warm against his back, not that it mattered much. They were still in the middle of a blizzard that had since calmed. He felt Mukuro chuckle against his shoulder “what?” He asked focusing on finding their checkpoint from when they had arrived. “I’m passing out” Mukuro giggled “can’t hide you” he said his words slurring. “ ‘mubble is uh real looshun tho” Mukuro whispered before falling limp against him. Hibari came to a abrupt stop using the chain from his tonfas to securely wrap Mukuro to himself.</p><p> </p><p><em>He must have used the last of his strength to hide us from their cars, </em>Hibari noted, taking off faster than before. He wouldn’t let Mukuro die out here in the middle of some storm, the score needed to be even.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Vongola Estate </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>British Columbia </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>2:34 PM</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mukuro had recovered fairly well, fast enough to make it to the meeting where Tsuna would be tearing him a new one personally. Hibari was also included for whatever reason. Mukuro sat at his piano happily playing you’ve got a friend in me on the piano while hibari assumed his spot in the bay window Tsuna sat behind the desk losing his patience with his two most difficult guardians.</p><p> </p><p>“Mukuro.”</p><p> </p><p>“Tsunayoshi” Mukuro replied in a cheery tone.</p><p> </p><p>“Mukuro, you’re really testing my nerves.”</p><p> </p><p>Hibari wondered why he had been requested at all.</p><p> </p><p>“That is nothing new, is that what you called me here to say?” Mukuro asked with a smirk taking a sip of his water. “BASTARD STOP FUCKING AROUND” Gokudera scolded him which only added to the light in Mukuro’s eyes.  “Mukuro. You killed another family's guardian.” Tsuna slapped his hands against the wooden desk earning a curious glance from Hibari, sure Tsuna had grown into a less annoying adult but the boy was still so gentle. He rarely yelled at them in anger.</p><p> </p><p> “I did. And I would do it again.  it was necessary”</p><p> </p><p>“Mukuro, you like to make other people's business yours too much. Whatever that family did to upset you— which I can’t imagine was much since you think this is a game, was probably not our place to decide. Some matters are internal and don’t concern you no matter how much you play around in their bases pretending to be one of them.”</p><p> </p><p>Mukuro grinned, which seemed normal but Hibari could find traces of disgust in it. Both men were dangerously close to getting the other angry; he wrapped a hand around his tonfa. Mukuro would be an idiot to fight Tsuna. He wouldn’t let him make a mistake like that and spiral out of control which inevitably would lead to Tsuna granting his wish of killing the bastard. He didn’t really feel like it at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>“If you’d like to turn a blind eye then do so, Sawada Tsunayoshi.”  Mukuro said calmly returning to his melody.”Nothing remotely related to me other than how quickly I could do you a favor has ever concerned you anyways. This has nothing to do with you. Like usual” Mukuro added a faint sense of bitterness lingering in the statement. “STOP BEING OBTUSE THIS HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ME. IF I-...if it was one of my guardians there would be a war ensuing right now. You don’t know what you’ve done” Tsuna hissed standing over the desk glaring at Mukuro who was still focused on his piano. Mukuro let out a sarcastic laugh “if it were any one of us you’d start a war?” He asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.” Tsuna said without hesitation.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you remember what Royhei was injured with late last year ?” Mukuro asked, intertwining his fingers letting his chin rest in the dip.  “He took a direct hit from a lightning swordsman it pierced his lung”</p><p> </p><p>“And that silver haired idiot next to you in October”</p><p> </p><p>Gokudera growled as Tsuna spoke over him “a defective box weapon almost damaged the nerves in his left hand. He got surgery right after his hand works fine now” Tsuna rose to the challenge. Mukuro was an idiot if he thought Tsuna wasn’t a caring person. Hibari sighed having a strange feeling he knew where this was going. “Takeshi?” Mukuro egged him on</p><p> </p><p>“He got poisoned by a sushi chef, he couldn’t move for a week too dizzy to even sit up.  but just like everyone else we got to the bottom of it. What the h—”</p><p> </p><p>“And what about me?” Mukuro asked</p><p> </p><p>“You got shot.” Tsuna said painfully aware of how short his answer for Mukuro was in comparison to the others. Mukuro laughed at the Bosses discomfort “and here I thought Tsunayoshi had a bleeding heart” he began finally making eye contact with the brunette who didn’t back down. “Hibari would hang my corpse like a decoration is his weird ass private office in Italy, yet he could give you a better answer than that.” His words dipped in venom. Tsuna looked away not fully ready to face this fact then and there. Sure he had believed in Mukuro enough to treat him like a guardian not an enemy and admittedly aside from being like Hibari in his allusive and mostly Independent nature he hadn’t caused any (big) problems. Had made this idea that him and Mukuro were something like acquaintances, but he hadn’t really put in the work behind it. He could lie and say it was because Mukuro was occupied with his own affairs but it wouldn’t hold. He still invited hibari to parties he wouldn’t spend more than ten minutes at, as for Mukuro it was always business. A favor. Maybe he was wrong for having a bit more tolerance for his subordinates that were also involved in their first encounter. Maybe it was time they spoke , Tsuna decided this. He wouldn’t let history repeat itself. Mukuro was on his side in his own self serving way, even if he was an arrogant ass about it, Mukuro  wasn’t evil. Not like he believed when they were younger.</p><p> </p><p>“Mukuro…”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry I’m not going to fight you. Doctors orders, my flame is still healing it's really annoying. You should look at my medical records.” Mukuro smiled before standing and exiting the room. “Do not call me to watch another parent guardian conference,” Hibari said, finally standing, he found that the whole ordeal had left him irritated. He hadn’t gotten to see Mukuro get his ring taken, He suddenly felt bad for the bastard, and for reasons unknown to him he wasn’t on Tsuna’s side for once. “Wait Hibari...can you please tell me about Mukuro’s condition?” Tsuna asked, sitting down slowly.</p><p>“Fine. But that one leaves.” He said, pointing to gokudera. It wasn’t necessary but he wanted to see at least one satisfying display of authority today. After an exchange of harsh words the two were alone.</p><p> </p><p>“That bullet, it wasn’t normal it was draining his flames from him. Verde was here briefly, I almost called because it was so bad, I figured that might be something you’d be interested in. But I was wrong apparently” He found himself making the snide comment. To get back at him for wasting his time of course, nothing else. “Hibari. Please.” Tsuna sighed wanting no parts in the twos ongoing rivalry. “When he came to he managed to give me a solution to a puzzle that was guarding the family’s work. What I found was disturbing to say the least. But it’s my information to have. So I won’t be telling you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I figured.” Tsuna groaned rubbing his temples.</p><p> </p><p>“But I can tell you his information.” Hibari decided to give the other a little. He and Mukuro were on two separate pages in the matter. Hibari wanted the research. Mukuro wanted to punish. They didn't really interfere with the other really. “Their framework for box weapons includes the extraction of someone’s pure  dying will flame.” He said simple. Tsuna jumped  at the revelation.</p><p> </p><p>“What ?!”</p><p> </p><p>“I wasn’t aware. Nobody else’s research mentions a pure dying will flame. But Mukuro knew of this and he wondered how they acquired it so he possessed one of their main doctors Thomas Addler and learned that they were taking members from other families as payment and extracting their flames. Killing them.” His tea suddenly tasted bitter. He rested it on the table pushing it away remembering just how enraged the Mist had been the day he left and returned covered in blood asking what was on the menu for dinner. “Most were..” he didn’t need to finish. The colorful language that left Tsuna’s mouth made it clear that he had pieced everything together by now.</p><p> </p><p>“And I just told him it wasn’t my business” Tsuna looked two seconds away from having a mental breakdown. “Nothing new to him” Hibari mumbled that part of his brain that knew more that necessary about Mukuro running back all the little things he learned. “That’s the problem. Mukuro has only behaved and stopped trying to possess me because I was supposed to be different,” the brunette stood and pushed his chair in. “I need to apologize before he pulls another itachi and murders his own” he declared making way for the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah also Hibari-san, when are you coming home ?” Tsuna questioned with a hand on the doorknob. For the first time Hibari realized he wasn’t actually home, but it felt like it. “I don’t particularly mind it here. I’d like to see summer here” he answered looking at the same view that captivated him three months prior. “Huh? Even with Mukuro?” Tsuna sounded scared , thoughts of the two nearly killing each other and his family members in everyday activities flashing through his mind. He would need to ask around about the environment they had been in since hibari’s arrival.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t mind him either.” Hibari found himself saying aloud an uncomfortable silence fell upon them, both wanting to ask “what the <strong>fuck</strong> are you saying ?”</p><p> </p><p>“You obviously can’t keep an eye on him from Italy” he added on. It wasn’t the first time Hibari had babysat the Mist for tsuna. Tsuna took that and left not wanting to know what exactly the two had been up to, the estate was still in one piece and that was all he could really ask for.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Vongola Estate Dining Terrace </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>British Columbia </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>8:12 AM</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Mukuro had taken his “medical leave” to a whole other level. He had restricted his wardrobe to a large variety of pajamas and loungewear, Hibari's eyes had been assaulted in more ways than one every morning— because Mukuro ate breakfast now. Not so much ate. More like sat and ruined Hibaris by exposing his navel in a bright colored cropped hoodie every morning as he sipped his coffee reading a newspaper the same way Verde had during his visit. Luckily they were past his phase of pretending he was dying and planning a funeral for his Mist flame. Verde had scolded him like a Toddler the entire three days he was there and Mukuro seemed to revel in the attention like the brat he was. Tsuna even got him a get well gift a pair of black leather Armani gloves which he took to wearing during their little piano sessions. That was until he declared that everything was boring without the visual aid of his illusions. He could no longer do dramatic shit like put a fake rain cloud over Hibari’s head and call him grumpy or  make a double of the Cloud guardian except with his god awful haircut. He also couldn’t create a small dancing couple to tango across the piano like little dolls as he played. Hibari kind of missed that one. He guessed if his flame was gone for a short while he wouldn’t really care aside from not being able to see his hedgehog it didn’t really have any super amazing power he couldn’t do without. Except it was handy when he wanted more pillows on his bed or hibird’s to sing in the morning. He  figured if he had a mist flame (ignoring the one he did have because he refused to talk about that.) he would miss a little of the magic it brought to his daily life.  Mukuro laid on his piano bench posed like someone in a therapy session, Hibari glared. The man was useful for one thing and it was playing piano until dinner everyday this strike was messing with His schedule.</p><p> </p><p>“Why come here if you’re not going to play” Hibari finally asked as he blew on his tea. Mukuro looked at him upside down with his head hanging off the bench “it is <em>my </em>office I don’t want to spend all day in my room kyoya” Mukuro pouted at the other before returning to reading a book that looked too old to be touched. Hibari stopped mid sip the tips of his ears reddening. He’d been using the space like his own personal lounge for months even taking naps in the middle of the day when the sunlight hit the window perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He could’ve at least kicked me out like a normal person. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Kyoyaaa”</p><p> </p><p>“...what”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you like the piano ?” He asked, staring at him with his mismatched eyes the overgrown blue bangs that usually framed his face threatening to touch the floor. It was usually hidden but Mukuro had high cheekbones making his face look sculpted just enough to walk that thin line between feminine and masculine. Hibari wondered if he knew this, he probably did considering everyone had taken to calling him pretty once Verde had convinced him school uniforms weren’t clothes and he actually began wearing real clothes from any section of the store his heart desired. “If I didn’t I would never stay” he replied breaking eye contact. Mukuro sat up placing the book on top of his piano “okay from now on I’ll play for my biggest fan” He smiled. “Are you comfortable?” Mukuro asked, having filled the room with giant plushies that resembled his pet bird.</p><p> </p><p><em>So he’s fine now. </em>Hibari gathered using all his will to not give the man the satisfaction of yelling at him. “Ah” he confirmed seconds later the room was filled with piano notes again a certain kind of peace falling amongst him. The plushies were pretty comfy. “Any requests?” Before Hibari could tell him he didn’t actually know any pieces by name the man had already started playing. “Sh kyoya I know what you want” Mukuro whispered suggestively, the cloud flung the teacup at his head as a warning. He caught it of course and set it down next to his mug on the piano all while still playing with his free hand.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mukuro didn’t ask for a request again after that like usual he played whatever he wanted and Hibari enjoyed it in silence. His pieces strayed from the classics, some of the melodies sounding wildly familiar causing the cloud to look over every now and then to check it was the same man. The clouds sketchbook had amassed a total of five drawings of Mukuro lost in thought as he played or sat in various places in his office. He’d contemplated scribbling over them so the fact that he’d even spent enough time with him for the face studies to even exist had no solid evidence. They never spoke while he played both preoccupied by whatever ran amuck in their brains. Mukuro had taken to playing pieces that were less energetic. In turn Hibari fell asleep a lot faster because it was easier to be serenaded by Beethoven’s moonlight sonata than Chopin's waltz. Somewhere between last week and the next he’s become disturbingly aware of how domestic their little arrangement looked. How Tetsu had been surprised that he “did this every day” when he mentioned he was running late for it. Of course he didn’t have the gall to ask the nature of their relationship. The annoyingly astute second in command asked something else to steer Hibari in the right direction instead.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s hard to picture. What kind of music does he play?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know.” Hibari answered simply “I just like the sound.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well what does Mukuro’s Piano playing sound like?” Tetsu pressed lightly purposefully using the name of the mist that use to send the other into a fit of anger.</p><p> </p><p>“Lovely.”</p><p> </p><p>His world turned on its axis.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> The thought of actually killing Mukuro in a fit of teenage anger had long left his brain. Everyone was aware of this a year after they arrived in Italy. It was more like a small itch that could be ignored unless Mukuro made it his goal to bother him for the day. The only surprising matter was how unaware he was that</p><p>they learned to exist in this space together. It didn’t <em>mean </em>anything except he’d learned to Hate the man as much as he hated the other guardians, at arm's length. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he walked to the others office. Mukuro's arms length was more literal. He was always in reach these days.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You eat meals with him…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Others are there though. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>He’s there. That’s usually reason enough to <strong>leave</strong>. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>You notice him. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I notice everyone. It’s natural for me. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>True, but you notice a little more about him. It’s natural considering you used to be obsessed with him. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I was not <strong>obsessed</strong>…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>It was an obsession with him. There were others to fight </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>His usually stoic face betrayed him for a moment scrunching up in frustration. He entered Mukuro’s office welcoming the smell of his freshly watered plants. He skipped his tea today and went straight for the window opening a small panel and letting the crisp February air blow against his face. He found it hard to steal innocent glances like he usually did, Mukuro knew everything before he did somehow. Hibari wondered how long the other had realized that he was closer than usual.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Jesus Christ. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>His heart rate sped up as he listened to the song selection for today, had they always been so alarmingly sentimental.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You ignored it~</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I didn’t realize. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Realize what? Oh the constant Flow of love songs?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>His mind seemed to revel in its own undoing, “you look troubled” Mukuro broke their usual silence with his all knowing grin. “Don’t mind me I’ll just provide a more appropriate soundtrack for the pining virgin” his lips curled into a wide smile eyes leaving him as quickly as the had come. Hibari was too preoccupied to deal with the Virgin comment and instead closed his eyes.he needed to nap whatever the fuck this was off.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh God. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The unmistakable sound of Elvis Presley can't help falling in love with you began to escape Mukuro’s fingertips. He purposely turned away from the other focusing on the river below ignoring the way he held his breath everytime the song neared the word love.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You’re so fucking dramatic jumping straight to that </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Maybe, but wouldn’t it be nice if you loved someone? </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>No. Yes. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>He heard Mukuro mumbling something about him, how he napped like an old man. He shut his eyes as footsteps approached he could smell his cologne which was on the more outdoorsy side. He felt how close the others body was without really touching him even as he reached over and closed the window blowing cold air in his face. He didn’t know why he’d done it , or what he expected when he pretended to wake with fluttering lashes. It wasn’t this. It was and it wasn’t. A clear view of Mukuro’s neck and jawline as he gently locked the window before noticing the wandering eyes. “You’ll catch a cold you know” he beamed awaiting a snotty remark or threat. Instead Hibari blinked a few more times taken back by how close he was. He was right there. So easy to reach. Worst of all, He was just so pretty up close, like a dream he didn’t know he was having.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He knows what he’s doing. He must. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>He closed his eyes deciding to push it all away. Mukuro lingered a bit longer,Hibari’s  stomach dropped at another realization. He <em>wanted</em> the blue haired idiot to do something stupid like lean down and kiss him. Lips, forehead— anything that would make him feel a little less crazy. But alas Mukuro went about his business rather hurriedly.  Hibari sat up after a few moments letting himself imagine it for a moment, the office felt too small suddenly. Too intimate.</p><p> </p><p>He’d tossed and turned all night until he finally got up in search of his work. He didn’t have an office here, but there were office spaces available so one could only wonder why he had settled himself into Mukuros. Nobody understood why the mist allowed it anyways but didn’t dwell on the fact seeing as they seemed to understand the rivalry was one sided. Hibari looked at the notes in front of him, noticing amongst them was the unmistakable piece of stationary Mukuro insisted on giving him information on violently ugly pieces of blue paper decorated by a border of ponies, the mist purposely did this so his research would always have bits of colorful childish paper scattered throughout. For once Hibari actually smiled at the joke, he had a talent for annoying people in the smallest harmless ways. Hibari watched as the rain began to pour from the sky onto the forest below flashes of lightning in the distance. It was beautiful. He saw why Mukuro hid out at this estate while the rest of them had completely overlooked it. He didn’t mind it either, in fact he rarely mentioned namimori to Tetsu when describing it which was probably why the man had sent his spring wardrobe to the mansion. He could tell he’d found home there, for how long it was unknown. Still he wondered if the view was the only reason he really didn’t mind it here.</p><p> </p><p><em>You don’t spend every waking moment together but it’s a lot </em>he thought to himself. Mukuro came and went as he pleased, always up to something he was never gone longer than five days at a time. His absence wasn’t unnoticed by the entire base, everyone would miss the shenanigans of the twenty two year old. It almost felt cruel how much the Mist hopped around the globe making people miss him in different places. Ken and Chikusa and Chrome in Italy , Verde and Fran in Switzerland, Hibari in Canada. He would make a show of asking Hibari if he’d missed him and one of these days Hibari feared a yes would leave his mouth. He decided to stop dancing around the subject</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I might like him. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He admitted to his reflection in the window. His body felt lighter, his clouded brain clearing up just a little now that he’d decided to stop treating the revelation like disease. It was Mukuro’s fault after all, who the hell played love songs, (because he finally started asking song names and realized the pattern) to someone every day until they fell asleep ?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He likes games </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Ah...but they’re no fun if I’m not upset about them. This isn’t like other times. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>He groaned because asking was something he was never going to do. He barely has the courage to ask Mukuro that one question back in Italy and it was nothing like this. He decided he couldn’t ask anything until he asked him that. He dozed off on the floor near the window watching the rain. He felt his body shift it was still fairly dark out but the sun was out of view lighting the sky pink. It gave a soft orangish glow to the office he could smell him; he smelt sweet clearly having just showered. His mind focused enough for a moment to realize he was being carried bridal style, it was short he felt Mukuro ease him into the black couch he kept in his office soon after a blanket he knew to be an illusion had fallen over him. His eyes fluttered open still full of sleep Mukuro froze with the top end of the blanket in his hands waiting to be dropped over hibaris shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“Mukuro”</p><p> </p><p>“...yes?” He answered unsure if he should jump out of the way before a fist came swinging.</p><p> </p><p>“When we first met what did you mean when you said ‘you’ve finally come’ ?” Hibari questioned. Mukuro blinked in confusion before seeming to find the memory. So he had remembered. He grinned dropping the blanket , he was kneeling next to the couch at first. He retired into a sitting position facing Hibari</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a bit like a fairytale” he began his eye changing to its first path. Hibari could see visions of some place made entirely of red and orange hues</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve met him before, satan that is. He was bound to notice me passing through several times against my will. So he told me he had a gift” Mukuro was smirking now. “The doctors were messing with something beyond their comprehension; really they accomplished nothing but giving me six peoples life  memories. He made it so it was useful and gave me my paths” the story was morbid but Mukuro sounded fond of the memory. Hibari didn’t know how religious he was but he most certainly didn’t want confirmation about what was to happen to him.  “Oh full disclosure you don’t stay in hell forever unless you chose to he was very clear on that” Mukuro rolled his eyes at the fact he was forced to add. “But there was one time when I was dangerously close to locking myself in forever he offered me my karma. As his disciple I was free to do whatever I wanted with my powers but everyone needed karma. He said I would be the one to decide whether it would be good or bad.” He’d taken a more serious tone now</p><p> </p><p>“Are you telling me I was made to be yo-“</p><p> </p><p>“No Kyoya that’s not how it works. You were just the right person for him to mark as my karma. He never told me this because I haven’t died recently.  I just knew.”</p><p> </p><p>“What does it mean if I’m good or bad karma”</p><p> </p><p>“Well in a Religious construct it means you’re either the worst thing that happens to me because of what I’ve done or a good thing that’s going to happen to me”</p><p> </p><p>“What did you decide?”</p><p> </p><p>“What have I decided about someone who refers to me as their sworn enemy?” He laughed, rocking back a little.  He came closer than Hibari was emotionally prepared for “I think you’re the best thing that ever happened to me Hibari Kyoya”. He grabbed his cropped hoodie by its collar making Mukuro's chin rest on the couch seat. He was enjoying this , his morning routine of annoying hibari in a way hibari realized was a lot like flirting. Mukuro was an open book, if you knew how to read between the lines of his chaos.</p><p> </p><p>Hibari found that he could read very well as he closed the gap between them much to Mukuro's surprise.</p><p> </p><p><em>They are soft </em>, Hibari noted the others lips were just as he’d imagined. And he kissed like he was taking something out of you, possibly your common sense.  When he finally let go Mukuro sat still with a dumbfounded look on his face, two fingers tracing over his lips. It was a few minutes before he spoke “Good karma was vastly different from what I had imagined” he said avoiding eye contact. It didn’t matter, the room was well lit enough for hibari to see the faint trace of red across his cheeks. For all his inner turmoil he was rewarded with Rokudo Mukuro being embarrassed for once in his life.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you Blushing?” Hibari pressed, how the tables had turned.</p><p> </p><p>“No it’s just hot in here.” Mukuro tried to lie which usually he was good at.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s fifty six degrees.”</p><p> </p><p>“Shut up.”</p><p> </p><p>Hibari laughed causing Mukuro to forget his embarrassment for a moment and look at him. Then his grin came back.  “Kyoya you kissed me” he pointed out, something told hibari he’d soon regret it. “I have to call Tsuna and tell him his devious little guardian is the one harassing me now” he began to talk about how he was going to tell this story of how he wooed a brick wall into having feelings for him. “Should I also inform them of your catalog of 63 love songs you played for me?” Hibari questioned Sitting up. Mukuro instantly shut up. So he had been crushing, purposely playing sappy shit because of course he’d tell you he liked you without saying a word. “I don’t see why you’d do that it’s nobody’s business really” his tune quickly changed as he stood up. He laid in the space before Hibari on the couch getting comfortable under  the blanket pushing his ass into Hibari’s  crotch. He ignored Hibari's piercing glare burning a hole in the back of his head. “I’ll be the little spoon, please don’t try anything, I’m not ready yet” Mukuro said in a disgustingly sweet voice. Still Hibari found himself wrapping an arm around the others, his own face resting comfortably on top of mukuros. The others breathing slowed as he fell asleep he followed soon after.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They had forgotten to lock the door of course so when a squad member had gone looking for the missing guardians he had the misfortune of walking in on the intimate moment. Mukuro cared very little , Hibari  on the other hand threatened to kill him in cold blood if he didn’t erase the memory from his mind then and there. Mukuro had to pry his fingers off the poor guys neck and tell him hibari was just tired. He hadn’t told of course.  But he didn’t have to not when Hibari had begun to give into the mist guardians facetious flirting  behavior daring anyone who witnessed to question whether it was romantic or not.</p><p> </p><p>Rumor had it Tsuna had passed out when he called to ask what kind of game Mukuro was playing (because he was sure Hibari was away and he had to be using illusions for amusement again.) And found the two in the middle of a make out session which Hibari said he was rude for interrupting and hung up. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>strongly considering writing a small bonus that covers Verdes stay with Mukuro and Hibari at the base . </p><p>me feel free to ask me abt it on Tumblr : https://indigosprite.tumblr.com/ask</p></blockquote></div></div>
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